|
Scientology
and the Clearwater Police
|
The
Relationship Between Scientology and the
Clearwater Police
Scientology
came to Clearwater under the assumed name
of United Churches in 1975. This initial
deception was followed by the startling
discovery that Scientology's intelligence
division, the Guardian's Office (since renamed
the Office of Special Affairs) was conducting
covert
operations against the United States
government and actively trying to take
over the city of Clearwater.
|
|
Mike
Rinder and Chief Sid Klein
|
Operations
were mounted to ruin the reputation and political
future of Mayor Gabe
Cazares and infiltrate the offices of political
leaders, community organizations and the press.
The
Clearwater police opened an investigation of Scientology.
Lt. Ray Emmons
was one of the men in charge of this project which
was an ongoing investigation until a new city
manager, Mike Roberto, decided to accept Scientology
into the community. His program, "One City,
One Future," changed the entire tenor of
how the city interacted with Scientology.
When
the Lisa McPherson Trust opened a Clearwater office
in January 2000, Scientology made arrangements
with the Clearwater Police Department to hire
off-duty police officers to sit outside the entrance
of Scientology's "Bank
Building," which is right down the street
from the LMT's back door. For more than
eight hours every day, including Sundays and holidays,
a pair of officers stood guard at this location.
Scientology
paid the Clearwater police in excess of $175,000
a year. Many of the officers who work this
off-duty assignment do so on a regular basis.
An
agent of Scientology's Office of Special Affairs
accompanies these officers at all times. Printed
propaganda characterizing the LMT staff as dangerous
criminals has been routinely handed to the officers
in an effort to turn them against the staff of
the LMT.
There
have been several instances where these officers
have had to respond to situations involving members
of the LMT, and the officers have showed an obvious
and alarming bias against them.
In
some of these situations, LMT staff members and
associates were assaulted by Scientologists and
the police stood by, letting it happen and doing
nothing.
The
Police Video
LMT Video Documentary
After
several disturbing instances in which the Clearwater
Police showed an increasingly disturbing bias against
the LMT, we produced a video to document the situation.
Off
Duty Assignment Sheet
Clearwater Police Department Document
This
is a sample of the form that the Clearwater police
officers sign to accept or decline the Scientology
duty on Watterson Street. Of the 262 forms
that we reviewed, only two indicate that the officer
declined the duty.
Note
the description of the assignment and the fact that
the police are to report to the head of Scientology's
Office of Special Affairs, Mike Rinder.
Police
Department Affidavit
February 2, 1995
Captain
Paul Maser of the Clearwater Police Department wrote
and signed this affidavit which was used in a lawsuit
which Police Chief Sid Klein and the Clearwater
Police Department brought against Scientology in
1995. With this affidavit, Chief Klein was
attempting to protect the identities of the police
detectives who were actively investigating the criminal
activities of Scientology.
In
this affidavit, the police department acknowledges that
it is fully aware of Scientology's policies of harassment,
including Fair Game. Yet now that Scientology
is using those Fair Game policies against the LMT,
the Clearwater police are turning a blind eye to
these tactics, in some instances even aiding Scientology
in carrying them out.
When
did the Clearwater police force change its attitude
towards Scientology, and what were the reasons for
this shift?
St.
Petersburg Times Newspaper Coverage
March and April, 2001
After
Judge Penick stated in his ruling on the Trial
of the Clearwater 13 that the Clearwater Police
Force was becoming dangerously close to becoming
Scientology's private security force, the local
newspaper ran a story and an editorial about Chief
Sid Klein's decision to allow his officers to
be paid by Scientology.
Affidavits
January, 2001
Two
associates of the LMT walked down Watterson Street
to peacefully picket Scientology . They were harassed
so severely by one of the Clearwater officers,
Officer Harbert, that they were frightened and
turned back. Bob Minton and Arnie Lerma met them
as they returned to the LMT. When they told
Bob what had happened, he angrily confronted the
police officers about their harassive behavior,
at which point they threatened to arrest him.
Read
Randy Enerson's Affidavit about that incident
Read
Tory Bezazian's Affidavit about that incident
|
